


The End Is Where We Begin

by MTex, tatch



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Conspiracy, It's failing whoops, M/M, Medical Experimentation, Mention of sweaty balls, Nanites, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Sickness, Soldier Enhancement Program, i guess
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-30
Updated: 2018-01-05
Packaged: 2019-02-07 17:27:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 12,287
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12845991
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MTex/pseuds/MTex, https://archiveofourown.org/users/tatch/pseuds/tatch
Summary: Written by MTex, beta'ed by tatchBased on art and concept by tatch.MTex: Thank you so much, dear friend, for allowing me to put your ideas into words. I hope I was able to do them justice.tatch: I'm super happy you decided to give this a shot :3 I hope you had as much fun writing it as I had making the art ^^





	1. The Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> Written by MTex, beta'ed by tatch  
> Based on art and concept by tatch.
> 
> MTex: Thank you so much, dear friend, for allowing me to put your ideas into words. I hope I was able to do them justice.
> 
> tatch: I'm super happy you decided to give this a shot :3 I hope you had as much fun writing it as I had making the art ^^

“Hey, Doc?” Gabriel’s voice sounded weak from the entrance of Dr. Ziegler’s med bay.

Angela peered up from her desk, blinking, as if she’d been pulled out of a deep thought process, like the one in which she usually always was when it came to her work.

“Ah, Commander Reyes.” She stood from her desk, brushing out the wrinkles in her lab coat as she stepped around the furniture to properly greet the Blackwatch Commander. “How may I help you?” She reached up and tucked stray strands of her blonde locks behind her ear.

It was rare for Gabriel to come to this part of the building, unless he was checking up on Genji’s progress, but they’d already spoken about that earlier in the week. Her eyes scanned over his form, looking for any injury. As her eyes rested over his face, she could tell that he looked rather pale. Before he even spoke, she already knew that he was under the weather.

“I’m… not feeling so well. Which is why I came to see you...”

Angela stepped closer and placed a hand over his firm bicep, motioning for him to step inside.

“Of course. Though… I must say, it is very rare for you to become sick. From what I’ve seen of the Super Soldier Experiment Program through you and Jack, you shouldn’t be able to get sick at all…” A worry line drew across the tip of her forehead and she led him to an exam table.

Dr. Ziegler had familiarized herself with everyone’s files upon entering Overwatch. It was her duty to know everything about everyone when it came to their health and it had proved to be of vital importance on numerous occasions.

“I’m aware.” Is all Gabriel said, in a matter-of-fact tone as he shifted his weight onto the table, the exam paper crumpling beneath him. Obviously he didn’t ever get sick, which is why he came to see her. Something was clearly wrong.

“My apologies…” Angela’s lips quirked up into a half apologetic smile as she placed the earbuds from her stethoscope into her ears.

“Don’t apologize. I’m just… on edge.” Of course he was. Anyone in his shoes would be.

Dr. Ziegler placed the end of the scope over his chest, listening to his heart and his lungs, meanwhile her fingers felt over his wrist for his pulse. His heart rate was definitely elevated. It may have been due to his nervousness, but she didn’t want to take any chances.

“Can you please tell me all the symptoms you’ve been experiencing?” She asked as she removed the stethoscope from her ears and draped it over her shoulders, her blue eyes watching him carefully.

“I mostly feel weak, but sometimes I get these weird dizzy spells which make me sick to my stomach. I haven’t really been able to eat the past few days.”

“So, this has been going on for a few days?”

“Mmh.” He hummed in reply.

“I wish you’d come to see me sooner.” She scolded. “I’m going to have to run some bloodwork.”

“Whatever you have to do…”

“I’ll be right back.”

Angela left to retrieve everything she needed. Gabriel could hear drawers and cabinets being opened and closed as she gathered all the items she needed around the corner. Within five minutes she was back, setting multiple colored tubes on the table beside him. He swallowed back some dry air as he eyed the needles. He could take bullets to his flesh any day, but something about needles made him really queasy. Anyone who ever had to go through SEP would want to banish needles forever. It was the main reason why Jack never stepped foot into the med bay. Just the smell of anything medical made the poor man ill. Gabriel understood his reasons now.

“Doc…” Gabe spoke up, his voice merely a whisper.

“Hmm?” Angela looked up at Gabriel’s face. “Oh, mein gott, Commander. I didn’t realize- Please, lay down.” She quickly moved all the tubes to a side table and helped him shift his weight so he could lay down.

She pressed the palm of her hand over his forehead, feeling his cold sweat. He was paler than before. She hadn’t expected a tough man like him to nearly pass out from the sight of needles.

Gabriel’s chest moved unsteadily as he breathed irregularly.

“Try to take deep and steady breaths.” She breathed in, helping him get the motion. Then she breathed out. “Like this. Keep breathing.”

While she continued to speak to him in a steady tone, helping him focus on his breathing, she began to wrap the tourniquet over his upper arm, making his veins below fill up with blood so she could properly insert the needle. She worked quick and steady, and before he even knew it the needle was already in, and she was filling the first tube of blood.

“Relax your hand.” She moved her free hand to pull his out of the fist she noticed he was making. “Almost done.” She switched tubes, and began to fill another.

Peering up at Gabriel’s face, she could see his eyes clenched tight, his nostrils flaring. Poor guy…

After a couple more tubes, she quickly removed the needle and held a cotton ball to his skin, waiting for the bleeding to stop.

“Stay lying down for now. It wouldn’t be wise to try and get up right away…” Angela ordered as she took the tubes of blood over to her lab station.

Dr. Ziegler immediately inserted the tubes of blood into a machine that would test his blood for results. While the machine ran its tests, she went to her mini fridge and fetched a little juice box for Commander Reyes. Soon, he was sent on his way and ordered to rest. He would be off duty for the time being, at least until Angela came up with some results.

In the meantime, Jack Morrison, Strike-Commander of Overwatch, was very busy on his end. He’d heard Gabe was sick, but he plain and simply didn’t have any time he could spare to check on his partner at the moment. The U.N. was still attempting to shut them down, the press kept releasing newspaper after newspaper, giving Overwatch a bad rep. Just recently a magazine had been released with the cover displaying a full-size shot of Gabriel, labeled “Blackwatch in The Shadow of Overwatch.” Jack wasn’t entirely sure how exactly the press had discovered about the existence of Blackwatch, but it would be very hard to defend. Jack trusted Gabriel more than he trusted anyone else, and whatever the man had to do to get people to talk was entirely up to him. He’d been known to work dirty when necessary, and it wasn’t like he could get criminals to talk by shoving smiles and candy their way. But apparently torturing the truth out of a criminal was injustice. What was the world coming to? Overwatch had been formed to save the world, but these days, it appeared as though the world didn’t want saving. People would rather defend the criminals and the omnics that continued to destroy their cities by the dozen. Jack slumped down in his desk chair, thumbing through all the work on his desk. What was the point of all of this? Was there still a point, really? His eyes rested on a photograph of himself with his two best friends, Gabriel and Ana. The first, now his lover, was apparently ill enough to have been put off duty until further notice. He sighed, wishing things would be as easy as the old days when the three of them first began Overwatch.

There was a soft knock at Jack’s door frame. He looked up to see Ana’s sweet smiling face as she peeked around the corner.

“Ah, Captain. I thought you’d already left.” Jack quickly tucked the picture away in a drawer and stood up.

“You know I wouldn’t leave without saying goodbye, Jack.” She took a few soft steps in his direction and hugged him, her arms around his neck.

Jack met the hug, his own arms sliding around her waist to embrace her..

“Be careful out there, Ana. Call me to let me know you made it.”

Ana stepped back, giving him a playful salute as if to take it as an order.

“You got it, Commander.”

“Oh, and tell Fareeha I said hello.”

“I will, Jack. Take care of yourself while I’m away. You’re working too hard. Get some rest.”

“I’ll try…” Jack shrugged, a small smirk playing at his lips.

Ana turned and left his office, heading out to the transporter that would take her to visit little Fareeha, who wasn’t so little anymore. Time flew by so fast. Fareeha was following in her mother’s footsteps, as was to be expected. She was currently studying at a military school in Egypt. Ana couldn’t have been more proud, and admittedly Jack was also. Fareeha was becoming a very strong, young woman. He could remember the days she was running around the Watchpoint, getting into whatever trouble she could find.

A couple more files later, Jack decided Ana was right. He needed some rest, to get some fresh air, be away from the mess this whole Blackwatch situation was and, more importantly, he needed to check on Gabriel. Closing up his office, leaving all the endless paperwork behind, Jack headed over to his lover’s quarters. Punching in the keycode to Gabriel’s room, the door unlocked. Upon entry, Jack immediately got the scent of dirty gym socks, possible death, and… sweaty balls.

“Shit, Gabe. What the fuck crawled in here and died?”

“Me.” The answer came from the man’s bed, muffled by the mound of blankets he was buried under.

It was worse than Jack had expected. Moving carefully through the dark room, Jack did his best not to trip over anything on his way. He managed to reach a window and crack it open so that the room could air out a bit. Jack then quickly stripped out of his work clothes, keeping his boxers and socks on, and crawled into bed with the stink butt himself. Gabe lifted the covers so Jack could crawl in with him. A wave of heat spewed out from under the blankets. The poor guy was practically a furnace. Jack didn’t care how hot or smelly the man was, he just wanted to hold him and hope he would get better soon.

“Hey Jacky.” Gabe spoke weakly, managing a soft smile.

“Hey.” Jack answered back, wrapping his arms around his lover.

Gabe instantly clung to him, moving his head to rest on Jack’s chest. Jack reached up to gently stroke through Gabriel’s short, curly locks.

“You should grow this out…” Jack muttered, trying to distract them both from Gabe’s pitiful state. “I think you’d look sexy with long hair.”

A “Mmh.” was Gabe’s only response. So much for distractions.

“Have you heard anything yet from the doc?”

“No…” Gabriel suddenly erupted into a coughing fit that sounded sickly and weak.

Jack’s brows furrowed in helplessness, as he wished he could do anything to make Gabriel feel better, even though he knew there wasn’t much he could do beyond holding the man. It felt like being back in the SEP all over again. They’d both gotten deathly sick from the experiment, and wound up in each other’s beds, holding tightly to one another and hoping the other would make it through. Jack didn’t understand why all of a sudden Gabe had gotten sick though. As much as he hated going anywhere near the med bay, Jack would try to see Angela in the morning, see if he could rush her along whatever it was that she was doing to help Gabriel get better.

Exhaustion had finally caught up with Jack, and soon he was fast asleep, curled up next to human furnace beside him. Gabriel managed to find sleep as well, comforted in the arms of his lover.

Morning came, and Jack needed to grab a shower before getting back to work. Carefully peeling his sick lover off of himself, he left Gabe in bed to keep on resting and quickly put the clothes from the day before back on. He headed to his own quarters where he showered and changed into clean clothes for the day. On his way out, he was startled by a certain cowboy, who had apparently been lurking outside his door.

“Jesse.” Jack cleared his throat. It was too early for cowboy shenanigans. Especially when Jack hadn’t even had his first cup of coffee yet.

“Howdy there, Commander. ‘M sorry to bother ya so early, but we got a problem over ‘n Blackwatch territory...sir.” Jesse shrugged apologetically and tipped his silly hat.

Of course there was. Jack sighed and rubbed his temples with one hand..

“What is it, Jesse?”

“Uh, well. Where do I start?” Jesse over exaggerated as usual. “With Reyes sick and all, some of the guys been doin’ stuff they ain’t ‘spose to. It’s really gettin’ outta hand. One of the men that was supposed to be in questioning wound up dead, and I know press is already hot and heavy on our asses. Quite frankly, I ain’t want nothin’ to do with this. I already been in enough trouble, ya know?”

“What do you mean, a man wound up dead?” Jack was angrier than angry. This kind of incident was all they needed for the UN to shut them down.

“I’m tellin’ ya, boss. Some of the guys are takin’ their torture methods too far. They think ‘cus Reyes is out, they can do whatever the fuck they want.”

“I’ll take care of it. But first, I need to go to the med bay to check something with Dr. Ziegler. Then I will deal with Blackwatch. I am going to need names, stat. And McCree?”

“Yeah, boss?”

“You and the rest of your gang make yourselves useful around here. In the meantime, I’m shutting Blackwatch down, until Reyes is better.”

“Yes, sir.”

With that, Jack started toward the med bay, gripping angrily under his breath. What the hell kind of people had Reyes working for him that would pull stunts like this the moment their Commander was away. Jack did his best not to meddle or get involved in Gabriel’s work. He had more than enough work on his own plate. But it looked like now Jack needed to somehow manage both ends, which was the reason he was shutting them down. Temporarily. Except for whatever names Jesse would give him. Those were going to be permanently let go. Jack already knew what would come to be after that. They would go and talk to the press out of spite from being fired. At this point, Jack just couldn’t bring himself to care. He had done and would continue to do his best to defend Overwatch, but there wasn’t much else that could be done. He couldn’t allow men like this to work for an organization that was supposed to be saving lives, not taking them. At this rate, they were no better than the very organizations, criminal and terrorist, they were trying to stop.  
Reaching the med bay, Jack knocked a bit too harshly on Dr. Ziegler’s office door. Angela opened the door, looking startled as her blue eyes met Jack’s. She had a mug of coffee in hand, her hair still wet from showering. She was lucky enough to have been able to grab coffee, unlike him.

“G-good morning, Commander. Is something wrong?”

Damn right, something was wrong.

“Just about everything under the sun, but none of it concerns you. What does concern you, however, is Commander Reyes’s current state. Have you found out what is wrong with him? How far along are you with coming up with a solution?”

“Uh-um, well…” Angela was clearly startled and uncomfortable with Jack’s current tone. “As a doctor, I’m sworn to keep patient privacy…”

“I don’t have the time or the patience to give a damn about this right now, Ziegler. . What is your progress?” Jack gritted, too wound up and pissed to wait for her to go over her personal and professional limitations..

“If this is about him being off duty, I…”

“Dr. Ziegler, I am ten seconds from losing it, and believe me, that is the last thing I want.” He paused. “I do not care that Gabriel is off duty.” Jack used Gabriel’s name rather than calling him ‘Reyes.’ “What I do care about, is him getting better. We are in the process of being shut down, and I am doing my best to prevent that, but I don’t know how much longer I can keep you employed at the rate things are going, and you’re the only hope he’s got.” Jack’s tone had shifted from angry to desperate as he spoke, revealing to Angela that potential end of Overwatch might be nearer than they’d all be left to think.

“Oh my…” Angela turned and, after setting her coffee mug down on her desk, picked up a tablet, tapping the screen to life. She looked over her electronic notes. “I’ve been running several experiments on his blood. It seems as though the nanites that were injected in his system during SEP are failing.” She frowned. “I’ve been working on a solution to boost them, but so far all the petri dish experiments have failed. I have one more idea I could try out, but it’s risky.” She bit down on her lower lip, looking up at Jack.

“What is the risk?” Jack was almost afraid to ask.

“Nanites are very powerful, meant to mend wounds and prevent illness. I could boost them, but if I boost them beyond a certain extent, I’m afraid that they could carry too much control. As in, make the human body do whatever they want. Like controlling the nervous system, causing potential brain damage, or even body mutation, or worse… death.”

Jack pressed his forehead against the door frame, closing his eyes as he released a shaky breath. He was at a loss on both sides. If they did nothing, Gabe could possibly die. If they attempted to fix him, Gabe could become something inhuman. SEP had already made both him and Gabe practically indestructible, far different from humans, but mutations? That was something completely different.

“I-I can keep trying to work on different solutions, Commander, I just- like you said… we may not have much time.” Angela spoke up again. “Even if we get shut down, I will still do my best to help Commander Reyes, I promise. I just don’t know how much time he has.”

He swallowed.

“Keep working, Doc. I will think about it over the day and speak with him on the matter.”

“Alright.”

There wasn’t much else to be discussed, so Jack left and headed to his office, and to the messes he needed to take care of regarding both Blackwatch and U.N. bullshit. Looking over the list of names that Jesse had left, Jack pulled up their files on the system and began to terminate each one, banning them from ever working for Overwatch again, giving severe misconduct as the reason for their termination. Of course, the U.N. would also see these terminations, since they had legal access to their database. Hopefully this would help give Overwatch a little leeway, if they thought the situation with Blackwatch was being dealt with. Notice was then sent out to the terminated employees. If problems arose, the problematic agents would be escorted off the premises.

Jack’s comm dinged shortly afterwards. It was a message from Gabriel.

WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH MY DIVISION?

Jack sighed but didn’t answer. He had known Gabriel would be upset but he didn’t have the energy or time to deal with discussions right now. Jack’s office phone soon rang too. It was the U.N. Just great.

After being on the phone for about an hour, a very sick Gabriel showed up in the doorway of Jack’s office wearing a sweatshirt, sweatpants, and a beanie on his head. Jack looked up, holding up his index finger as he kept talking to signal he needed a moment to end the call. His eyes never left Gabriel, however. The man had dark circles around his eyes and a grimace on his face.

Gabe hovered unsteadily, almost stumbling as he let himself in and plopped down in a chair, crossing his arms over his chest, as he propped his feet up on Jack’s desk gingerly. His eyes wandered to the big screens on the wall, reading over the news and updates that Jack always kept up to monitor what was being said about Overwatch, and keep track of all the crimes that were occurring that they couldn’t deal with due to restrictions the U.N. had put them under. Gabe then looked over Jack’s desk and found the piece of paper with the list of names. His grimace grew deeper and he looked even angrier. Jack sighed silently to himself as he listened to the babble on the other end of the phone.

“Yes, I understand.” Jack answered the man on the other end. “How long will this suspension last?” Pause. “I’ll see to it, sir.” Pause. “Thank you.” Click. “Gab-” He was cut off.

“What do you think you’re doing firing my agents?” Gabe stood up from the chair, pressing his knuckles into the desk, and glared down at Jack.

“Please calm down and let me explain.” Jack stood as well, meeting Gabriel face to face.

“Explain away.” Gabriel’s lips formed a thin line as his jaw tightened.

“Some of your agents killed a man during what was supposed to be simple questioning. We are already on the verge of being shut down. Blackwatch secrets are being spilled all over the media. You could be imprisoned for their actions, Gabriel, and I don’t want to lose you. I did what I felt was best…”

“What is best? You staying out of my division like you promised is what is best. I will deal with this myself! You mind your end, and I mind mine. That was the deal!”

“Do I need to remind you that you are very ill and supposedly off duty?” Jack shook his head. “ Someone had to take measures and deal with your mess.”

“I put McCree in charge to take care of my mess.”

“And McCree came to see me this morning because it was getting out of control! I know you love your work, Gabriel, but you’re too stubborn to see what’s going on behind your back.”

“Whatever.” Gabriel had enough of the argument and turned to leave.

“Gabe, wait…”

Gabriel stopped mid step, back still turned toward Jack, only looking at him from the corner of his eye.

“You know that I love you and trust you. I was only doing what I felt was best and only because you weren’t in any shape to do it yourself.”

“Mmh, well, maybe next time you think you know what’s best for me, you should speak with me about it first.”

“Gabriel, please, I don’t want to fight about this.”

Gabriel sighed, his shoulders dropping slightly.

“I love you too, Jacky.” And with that, he left.

Jack slumped back into his chair, feeling defeated. Gabriel was right, he should have spoken with him about it first, but at the same time he didn’t want to bother his sick lover with work. Especially not when he was looking worse with each day that went on. Speaking of which, he had forgotten to mention the conversation he’d had earlier with Doctor Ziegler. Perhaps it was best to save it for later so that Gabriel could get some time to cool down a bit.

The call with the U.N. didn’t go much better, but having fired those Blackwatch agents was at least buying them a bit more time. For now Overwatch was still suspended from taking any kind of action. They’d been put on suspension shortly before Gabe had decided to secretly send McCree over to England to monitor the situation there, without informing Jack or Ana. It had been risky and had taken some convincing, but Jack had ended up sending in Reinhardt, Torbjörn, Tracer, and Angela. Jack, Gabriel, and Ana had all worked together to walk the agents through the crisis and had managed to get them out safely, and most importantly, in regard to their current situation, secretly. The U.N. still hadn’t caught on to their secret mission. Luckily, the crisis had been handled just enough to allow for evacuations and save lives that would have otherwise figured among the casualties. And that was the whole purpose of Overwatch. To save lives. The U.N. seemed to continue to find flaw and failure to keep them under suspension, and it was becoming rather suspicious. Someone wanted them shut down for a reason, and Jack was determined to do whatever he had to do in order to get to the bottom of things and save Overwatch.

* * *

Later that day, and after about eight cups of coffee, Jack sent out notice to everyone that Overwatch was still on suspension, which meant everyone was still out of work, which meant very little pay. It wasn’t fair, but there wasn’t much left he could do about it. He was grateful, however, that everyone stuck around regardless.

Exhausted and spent, the Strike Commander decided to call it a night and closed up his office. He had more important needs to tend to.

Gabriel...

Jack couldn’t spend another minute away from him. Who knows how much time they had left if the Doc couldn’t manage to come up with a solution for his illness. Gabriel was a fighter, and Jack could only hope that Gabriel would be strong enough to fight this on his own. A bit more weary and heavy hearted than the previous day, Jack made his way to his lover’s quarters.

Entering the dark room, he found Gabriel on the couch with a blanket draped over himself. The only bit of lighting coming from the television that flicked over Gabriel’s features. Jack could smell that Gabriel had showered. It was a very handsome smell that always intoxicated Jack’s nose. It made him want to wrap himself around his lover and never let him go, but… now was not the time. For all he knew, Gabriel could still be upset, so it was best to take it slow.

“Hey big guy…” Jack spoke softly, shutting the door behind him.

Gabe stayed silent, his eyes glued to the television. Jack sighed to himself and walked over to the couch and nudged himself down between the armrest and Gabe’s body. Gabe moved slightly, giving him room, but still not saying a word.

Jack reached a hand up, running his fingers through Gabriel’s beard, stroking his thumb softly across Gabriel’s lower lip.

“You gonna stay mad at me forever?” Jack asked.

Gabriel finally turned his head to look at Jack, his dark brown eyes filled with uncertainty.

“No.” Gabriel finally said and swiftly wrapped his arm around Jack’s neck, putting him into a headlock, grinding his fist into Jack’s blonde hair.

Jack groaned and gripped his hands over Gabriel’s strong bicep.

“Okay, okay, I’m sorry!” Jack managed to choke out.

Gabriel chuckled and released Jack, enjoying a bit of playful wrestling, despite being sick.

“I’m sorry too.” Gabe admitted. “I just was so angry that you didn’t come speak with me. But I understood why you did what you did. In all honestly, I probably would had still fought with you about it… but you were right… doing what you did.”

Gabe wasn’t much a talker, but Jack was happy they were able to work their way through situations like this. It’s what made their relationship strong.

“...I have something else to tell you.” Jack fessed up, putting his hands up as if to be under arrest, pleading for Gabe’s mercy.

“What now?”

“I spoke with the doc this morning.”

“For fuck sake, Jack, you made it sound like you had more bad news. Why in the hell would I be upset that you talked with Ang?”

“...because it is bad news…”

“What are you talking about?”

“Your SEP is failing, Gabe. She thinks she knows a way to prevent it, but it’s dangerous.”

“How come she didn’t come to me about this?”

“...it’s partially my fault. I demanded her to tell me her progress and then asked for her to keep working on more solutions.” Jack shrugged apologetically and chewed his lower lip.

Gabe sighed and shut off the television, then reached over Jack to flip on the tableside lamp.

“I know you’re worried, Jacky. So I’m not going to get angry with you about this. But please, you need to learn to talk to me about this stuff. You can’t just go behind my back and try to fix everything yourself. You may have your own statue, and be the poster boy of Overwatch, but you’re not superman.”

Gabriel was right. Jack was allowing all his stress and worries get to him. He was making poor decisions.

“...I just don’t want to lose you.” Jack looked down, closing his eyes to fight back the tears that were burning to get out.

“I know, and I love that you care so much about me. But everything will be fine. The doc will find a solution, and everything will go back to normal.” Gabe lifted a hand to Jack’s chin, tilting his head up, forcing his lover to look at him.

Jack reluctantly looked up without shedding a single tear, but was sure his eyes were bloodshot by this point. Gabriel leaned in and met Jack’s lips with his own, kissing him softly. Jack wrapped his arms around Gabriel’s neck, deepening the kiss, a soft hum of yearning escaping his throat. Gabe’s hands began to explore up Jack’s back, then pulled him in closer.

“You smell so good.” Jack spoke his mind out loud.

A soft chuckle rumbled through Gabriel’s chest, as a grin played on his lips.

Soon, they both made their way to bed and got some much needed sleep. When they woke up, it would be a new day, with new problems, and hopefully new solutions.

Several days passed before Angela finally came up with a solution that she presumed to be a safer solution, but it still had similar risks. It was the best she could do and it was a risk they’d just have to take. She’d made it into a vaccination and was able to inject it into Gabriel’s system. Now all they had to do was wait and see if it had any side effects, positive or negative, or both.

Jack watched Gabriel like a hawk for the next few days, always checking in on him when he could. He was doing much better, back to his old, stubborn self. He continued to insist he was fine and told Jack to stop worrying so much. The vaccination ended up not having any bad side effects and Jack was even more proud to have such a professional, sufficient doctor on their team. Now all that was left was to try to keep working on convincing the U.N. that they needed to get back out on the field. More and more omnic crisis’ were occurring and Overwatch was the only hope to getting them under control. More importantly, they needed to figure out who was behind turning the omnics against humanity and forcing them to cause mass destruction.

Now that Gabe was back to work, Jack was stressing a lot less. They were both working together, talking more, and helping each other like they should had been doing in the first place. Gabriel ended up finding some potential leads on who may be causing crisis. They were one step closer to ending it all.

But little did they know that ending it all meant the end of themselves too…


	2. The End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Corrections may still be made to this chapter

_Thump, thump. Thump, thump._

 

Gabriel’s heartbeat was pounding hard in his chest. All he could hear was a high pitch ringing sound in his ears and his own heavy breathing.

 

Pain. Terrible pain raced through his body. He tried to look around, but his head wouldn’t move. He was trapped under something, his blurred sight preventing him from  seeing exactly what it was. He did his best to push up against it, but all he managed was a loud scream as more pain ripped through his body. He could feel the nanites in his body racing to repair his wounds already. But he could also feel himself grow weaker, colder, as if it was just too much to heal. He needed to get out. He needed to find Jack.

 

Jack. That was the only person, the only thing that mattered to him at this point in time. Gabriel couldn’t remember much of what had happened. He remembered telling Jack to meet him near the med bay where he’d just finished a checkup with the doc. He was going to walk with him back to their quarters for the evening. The last thing he remembered before blacking out was a loud explosion.

 

“Jack…” He tried to call out, but it was more of a gurgled whisper as a painful cough tore out of his throat, leaving a taste of copper on his tongue, blood staining his lips.

 

Gabriel was about to give up and let himself go, when he felt the pile of rubble move above him. He tried to focus, to see clearly what was happening. It was the doc, Ziegler, covered in blood, her healing staff in hand. She said something, but it was all mumbles and white noise to him. The doc activated her staff and began the process of healing him.

 

“Ja-” Another cough. More blood. “Ja-ck…”

 

Angela’s face said it all. He was gone. He was dead. Now that some of the rubble had been moved, Gabe managed to turn his head, trying to look around again. There he was. Jack. Lying lifeless in a pool of blood. He’d been right beside him the whole time. Gabe reached out, hand shaking with the effort, trying to touch his boyfriend one last time.

 

“St-op.” He looked back up to Angela. “Let… me… die.”

 

She shook her head, tears spilling lines through the blood on her cheeks.

 

“Let me… die.” Gabe repeated and closed his eyes.

 

Gabriel could feel himself go. But it wasn’t this white light  waiting for him, as he’d heard people say. All he could see was red. He guesses it was the blood filling his eyes. It was like his pain disappeared, and he was soaring in thin air. It was as though he’d been released from his body and become nothing. Free, he was free. Only, the feeling wasn’t going away. He opened his eyes again, and saw a fear struck Angela standing before him. Her eyes were wide and her mouth hung open in fear or horror as she backed away. He followed her gaze and looked down, noticing what appeared to be a black, smoke-like substance. As he tried to move, to get a better look at the thing, it moved with him. His body was no longer laying in the rubble beneath him. What was this? What was happening to him? He looked back to Jack, who still laid dead in a pool of blood. _No. No. This can’t be happening. I’m dreaming. Wake up. WAKE UP! I do not want to live if I can’t live with him!_

 

It wasn’t a dream, it was a nightmare. He was somehow still here, but he wasn’t himself. He was smoke, tar-black and heavy. How? His gaze turned back to Angela once more, whose knuckles had turned white with how tightly her hands were clenching the staff. This was her fault. Her silly witch experiments did this. Her devil technology she claimed to help people with. He didn’t know what she’d done, but it had to be her fault. He’d been dying, ready to join Jack into nothingness and she’d robbed him of it! It was all her fault! She turned to run, as if she could read into everything he was thinking. _Yes, run. Because as soon as I figure out how to, I will come for you first._

Gabriel ‘ran’ as far as he could, ending up in the middle of nowhere. Maybe drifted would have been  a more accurate description of it. Crawled? Slithers? Either way, he wound up finding an abandoned motel and decided to invade it. He would stay here until he could figure out this whole smoke situation.

 

Many days went by as he tried to figure out how to shift back into his human form again. He was beginning to think that he would remain a shapeless blob of smoke for the rest of  forever. In the end, the shift was easier than he had expected it to be, as he simply willed himself, willed his smoke into doing it. It felt so good to have all his limbs back again.

 

Looking himself over into the dirty, cracked mirror of the motel bathroom, he saw a very large scar that ran across his chest, down his ribs, and onto his hip. He had a vague memory of being slashed by a piece of falling rebar before he wound up under the mound of rubble. The scar was completely healed, most likely due to the nanites (and probably Angela’s witchery). He gingerly ran his fingers over it. It didn’t hurt to the touch. Looking up, he noticed his eyes were different as well. They’d changed and were now a deep, blood red color, with only a hint of brown still left around the edges. Anger flooded back into him suddenly, and he smashed his fist into the mirror, shattering it to pieces, leaving a bloody knuckles imprint behind. He wanted nothing more than to hunt down whoever had caused the Overwatch HQ’s explosion. They would pay for this. For killing Jack, the only man he ever loved.  For ruining his, their life. For taking everything from him, even death.

 

More sleepless nights passed as his mind, his heart bled over thoughts of his dead lover. It hurt, it ached, like a wound that refused to heal, refused to close. He was mourning, and he would keep on mourning. He would never cease. Jack had been his other half, his sun, his moon, and everything in-between. And now it was as though a piece of himself was missing, leaving a void in his soul, casting shadows and pain wherever his eyes went. Gabriel clung onto a dirty pillow as he laid in the beaten and battered motel bed, chest tight with how much he wished it were Jack.

 

Eventually, he got tired of lying, hopeless and filled with tears that refused to come, and allowed himself the shift back into smoke as he roamed the streets, mind focused on his revenge once more. The form proved itself useful, getting through and under tight areas. He was able to rob stores in the night, gathering necessities he needed for himself, such as food and clothing. It became an obstacle at some point, though,  and he had shift back so he could carry items in his human form. But he quickly discovered that clothing stayed on him during shifts. If he could keep his clothes on, then he should be able to transport other objects with him. The theory quickly proved itself. He did in fact have a mysterious void within himself. Interesting.

* * *

 

Two months had passed by the time Gabriel officially felt comfortable and confident in his _ghosting_ skills, as he now liked to call it. So now the hunt began. Revenge was hot and heavy on his heart. Anyone left of Overwatch would come to an end. Angela Ziegler would meet the end of his shotgun barrels, and oh, how he couldn’t wait for her to plead on her knees. Her and everyone else of Overwatch and the U.N. are at fault for Jack’s death, and for his own monstrosity of a transformation.

 

During all this time, Gabriel managed to keep up with the media, seeing the U.N’s reports. Dr. Ziegler herself reported both commanders dead, as well as many other casualties. What struck Gabriel the most, was seeing the press trying to interview the survivors… Jesse. The boy had an arm missing, his head hung low, his hat covering his face as he told the press to kindly go fuck themselves. _That’s my boy…_

 

When the coast was clear, Gabe made his way back to the Zurich Watchpoint, wearing white for a change. It would be his way of mourning, since he always wore black. It was his way of paying his respect to his lover, and the other’s that lost their lives that day. He climbed through the rubble of the building that still smoldered with smoke in some areas. Reaching the spot where he and Jack were pronounced dead, he knelt down and pressed his hand against the bloodstained ground. Of course the bodies had been picked up, but he hoped Jack’s spirit (if there was such a thing) was watching over him now.

 

“I love you always and forever, Jacky.” Gabriel choked out as a sob escaped his throat. “I swear to you... “ He spoke angrily through clenched teeth. “I will find out who did this.”

 

“Oh will you, now?” A thick Irish accent sounded from behind him.

 

Gabriel snapped around, knowing exactly who that voice belonged to. _Moira!_

 

“What are you doing here?” Gabe barked back at her, his fists clenching.

 

Moira had been hired on as Blackwatch’s support, and was very quickly fired due to her… misconducts. She used the same type of methods as Dr. Ziegler, but for purposes that Gabriel didn’t wish to remember. It was beyond Witchcraft.

 

“Well, you see, I’ve been keeping an eye on you, Reyes, and I’m rather quite intrigued.” She gleamed, her long nails raking the side of her face. “You appear to have changed.”  
  
Suddenly, she vanished, leaving behind a similar black smokey substance as his own.

“You seem to have acquired some abilities. Am I right?” She spoke from behind him now.

 

He turned to try and choke her, but she was gone again, leaving his hand stranded in air.

 

“Ah, ah, ah. There’s no need to get violent with me, Reyes. I’m simply only here to help.”

 

He whipped around to face her again, growling in frustration. “I don’t need your help!”

  
  
“Oh, but I think you do.” She smiled devilishly. “There’s still so much for you to learn about your abilities. I can help improve them.”

  
  
“I don’t need improvements.”

  
  
“Weren’t you just speaking to yourself a moment ago about revenge?” She cooed, batting her eyelashes.

 

He noticed now that one of her eyes was red, the other blue. She must be wearing contacts…

 

“I work alone.” He spoke flatly. “Now, fuck off.”

 

“Aww, that’s no way to speak to a lady.” She chuckled and hummed.

 

“LEAVE ME ALONE!” Gabriel yelled, his veins protruding from his neck.

 

“Fine.” She reached into her coat pocket and pulled out a card and flicked it in his direction. “If you change your mind, you can contact me. I work for Talon now.”

 

Turning on her heel, she began to walk away, only to peak a glance of mischief back in his direction.

 

Gabriel knelt down and picked up the card with a heavy, frustrated huff. Of course, she ran off to Talon. That seemed so much more fitting for her.

* * *

 

As more time passed, Gabriel decided he needed to make an Alias for himself. He was legally dead, and felt it was best it stayed that way. He had no desire to to be Gabriel Reyes any longer. His only problem was that he still didn’t know how he was going to go about getting revenge. Working alone was more harder than it seemed. He had no equipment, no agenda, no place to live… He was at a loss.

 

More times than not, he would look to Moira’s business card as a last resort, but each time ending up talking himself out of it.

  
  
He lost the battle with himself and got in touch with her. He hated how her voice seemed to seethe in victory that he’d finally given in.

 

Gabriel was now an official Mercenary for Talon. He’d come up with the alias name of Reaper, as a symbol that he would reap the souls of all who wound up at the end of his shotgun barrels.

 

Moira kept her word, and helped him discover new abilities about himself. Abilities he had no idea he had. She taught him how to construct, and shape things, such as his armor, and his guns. He could will himself in and out of whatever he wanted. It scared him at first, but the more he got used to his abilities, the more comfortable he became.  

 

He proved himself useful to Talon, and was immediately given a decent contract. It still felt like a step down from his Blackwatch commander position, but it was better than nothing. Talon’s business would be a piece of cake. What’s more blood on his hands? The only ping of guilt he had was that Jack wouldn’t approve of him accepting a job such as this.

 

Gabriel also hated the fact that Talon wouldn’t allow him to work alone. He’d been given partner after partner. First, Widowmaker, who he instantly recognized as Amélie Lacroix, the woman who killed her husband (and Overwatch agent), Gérard Lacroix. So, Talon made her the heartless bitch she was now. Interesting. Then, Sombra, the annoying, little Mexican hacker (who insisted on calling him ‘dad’). The three of them were missioned out to perform a multitude of Talon’s dirty work. At least it was never boring.

 

Just when Gabriel thought he had enough partners, Talon notified him that he’d soon be partnered up with one of their newest experiments and promised he’d be of good use. _As long as he’s not as annoying as the other two._ Gabriel thought to himself.

 

“Oh, and Reaper…” The cynical omnic leader of Talon spoke from behind his big fancy desk.

 

Gabe turned slightly, looking over his shoulder,  just about ready to the leave.

 

“Mmh?” Gabriel’s deep, raspy voice hummed through his skull mask.

 

His voice had changed drastically with his transformation as well. It was as if his vocal cords had been ripped out and put back in.

 

“This experiment…” The omnic paused, tapping his metal fingers together. “He has the same abilities as you.”

 

“Impossible.”

 

“Ah, but it is, my friend.”

 

“I’m not your _friend.”_

 

Gabriel left the office and headed to Talon’s science lab where he was to introduce himself to his new partner, that was supposedly like himself. _Yeah… right._

 

Then again, Talon was capable of a lot of things. And they had Moira. The thought alone made Gabriel more nervous about the situation.

* * *

 

Jack lost track of time. He wasn’t sure how many weeks or months had passed since he’d been brought to Talon’s headquarters. Everyone he knew more than likely thought he was dead, but Talon managed to revive him. Not only that, he had changed completely. Peculiarly, after his revival, he’d begun to morph into a white, smoke-like substance. Similar to that of cigarette smoke, wafting around in unpredictable swirls. He wasn’t sure how or why. At first he thought he was dead, and was simply roaming around as a spirit, but he quickly discovered that was not the case.

 

Jack demanded to be released, but was threatened by blackmail. If he even attempted to escape, they would expose him to the media stating he was indeed alive and that he was the one who caused the explosion and now worked for Talon. Jack was left without much choice. He feared that Talon would harm his friends, if any of them were still alive. So here he was, another nameless Talon Experiment, number 492.

 

He’d managed to morph into his human form once or twice at the beginning, but it was hard to keep the shape. After many experiments, he was found to be able to morph into human form if he wore tight materials, such as leather. An outfit was made special for him that fit his size requirements, and covered most of his facial features. The top had an attachable lift-up mask  that he could pull up the brim of his nose, just beneath his eyes. His hair had grown out. His blonde completely gone and fully greyed, which was mostly white. He kept it brushed in front of his face, hiding his eyes and the large scar that ran down the middle of his forehead. He was completely blind in his right eye, forced to rely on his left. Both his eyes were glazed white, only a hint of blue still left.

 

No matter how much time passed, Jack thought of Gabriel every day. The last he remembered was watching a beam fall from the ceiling and slice through his lover’s body. When Jack questioned the lab workers about Overwatch, he was told that just about everyone was found dead. Only a few survivors remained. He was sure that Gabriel was one of the many pronounced dead. No one could survive that. Though, he was somehow still here… unfortunately. And what would come of the world now that Overwatch was gone?

Being forced to work for the enemy and kill innocent lives was probably one of the hardest decisions Jack had to make. He nearly leveled down to the point of wanting to kill himself, but every time he tried, he’d become nervous and immediately shift into a big blob of smoke. Jack found it was hard to keep shape if he was nervous or uncomfortable. Turning to smoke was his safe place. It’s how he spent most of his time, until forced to wear the outfit.

 

“Alright, 492, time to gear up. You’re being partnered up with one of Talon’s finest. He goes by the name Reaper. He’ll be working and training you from now on.”

 

 _What?_ Partnered up? Talon’s finest? Reaper?  

 

“This is the last you get to see of this lab… for now.” The lab worker added. “You’ll be given your own quarters. A room assignment will be given to you later today.”

 

Jack supposed he should comply, as much as he didn’t want to. He took his human shape with an audible sigh and got into his outfit. After a few wiggles and squirms, he managed to get comfortable inside the familiar leather.

 

Leaned up against the wall, his arms crossed, his head down, Jack heard a knock on the door frame. He peered up slightly through his white locks, seeing a man dressed completely in black (much like himself), and a white skull mask on his face that resembled a barn owl. Jack chuckled silently to himself and shook his head, pushing himself off the wall and took a couple steps forward, waiting for an order to be given. His good eye glanced down, seeing Reapers sharp, talon-clawed gloves fold and unfold into and out of fists.

 

“Hi.” Reaper spoke, his voice sounding hoarse, and deeply chilling.

 

“Hey.” Jack returned the awkward greeting, his arms still crossed over his chest. His voice also more deep than usual.

 

“I guess your my new partner.” Reaper spoke up again. “You got a name?”

 

“They call me Experiment 492.” Jack would never give away his real name, especially not around here.

 

“Grim, it is then.”

 

“What?”

 

“Grim. That’s what I’m naming you. You look like you fit the part.”

 

Jack could almost sense the smirk the man was probably playing on his lips behind his mask.

 

“You can’t be serious…” Jack felt as though he could roll his eyes into next week at this rate.

 

This was a joke right? Grim Reaper? Really?

 

Reaper chuckled.

 

“Well, I sure as hell won’t be calling you by your experiment number.” Reaper stepped aside and waved his hand, motioning for Grim to step outside.

 

Jack complied and stepped out of the lab room. It was his first time seeing the outside of the four walls he grew to know so well.

 

“What’s the date?”

 

“Damn, they had you in there a long time, huh?” Reaper shook his head and began to walk, expecting Grim to follow. “October 25th.”

 

Four months. Jack had been a Talon experiment for four months…

 

“So...” Reaper continued. “I’m told you’re a ghost like me.”

 

“What?”

 

Was it possible for someone else to have a similar condition as him?

 

“Yep.” And just like that Reaper’s form disappeared into a large cloud of black smoke and slumped to the floor, moving quickly around Jack’s back and then came back to the front, reforming himself into his human form, his outfit, mask and everything still in perfect tact. “I call it ghosting.”

 

Jack blinked. He had a lot to work on yet. He had not yet mastered moving too well in his smoke form. He usually just sat in one place, trying to find some form of content.

 

“H-how did you become like this.” Jack asked.

 

“None of your business.” Reaper snapped back.

 

Jack remained silent then. He didn’t blame Reaper for not opening up. They’d just met, and even Jack himself refused to reveal things about himself. Seems they were even.

* * *

 

 Another month passed by and Reaper was still working with Grim every day, teaching him how to maintain his ghost form, how to make his movements more swift, and how to keep objects within his void. But more importantly, he still needed to learn how to construct objects. He was still having difficulty when it came to larger objects, such as weaponry.  


“Have you managed to create anything, other than your ridiculous outfit?”

 

Grim huffed. _You’re the one with the ridiculous outfit._ He wanted to say aloud, but chose not to.

 

“Well?”  
  
Grim closed his eyes upon Reaper’s insistence and tried to construct the first thing that came to mind.

 

“DIE!” A little tiny squeak sounded from Reaper’s shoulder. “DIE, DIE, DIE!” Another squeaky voice came from Reaper’s boot.  
  
Suddenly they were popping up all over the place by the dozens. Bouncing, flapping, pecking. Little blobs of black with white masks, and tiny, flapping arms. They were about the size of finches and looked exactly like Reaper himself.

 

“...What.” Reaper looked all over himself, spreading his arms as they climbed all over him. “In the actual fuck, Grim.” It was not a question.

 

“You asked if I managed to create anything.” Grim responded, a smile forming beneath his leather mask.

 

“What _are_ they?”

 

Grim shrugged.

 

“I call them beans. I made one of myself too.” He stated, gesturing to his own shoulder where a little white blob with a black bandana mask sat happily slunched.

 

“How… adorable.” Reaper commented sarcastically.

 

It actually was adorable, but Reaper would never admit it. With the shake of his body, all the beans plopped onto the floor with little, tiny meeps.  
  
“Alright, can we be more serious about this, please? We have a mission soon, and I need you to be able to at least defend yourself.”

 

Grim rolled his eyes, and with the wave of his hand, the beans vanished into puffs of smoke. He’d already managed to construct a replica of his pulse rifle in his room the previous evening. He just needed to retrieve it from within his void, which he was still trying to get the hang of.

 

After a couple attempts, he managed.

 

“There.”

 

“...” Gabriel was at a loss for words. That gun… it was just like Jack’s…

 

“Is something wrong?” Grim’s head quirked to the side.

 

“No.” Reaper cleared his throat. “Nice work.”

 

“Thanks, I-” Grim was cut off.

 

“As I said, we will have a mission soon. It should be rather easy.”

 

“What do we have to do?”

 

“We just need to show up to a local meeting that will be taking place in a couple days and leave no one alive.” Reaper shrugged.

 

“Oh. Alright, I guess.”

 

“You should do fine. You got me as backup anyway.”

 

“Heh…”

 

Jack began to waft to smoke unexpectedly.

 

“Hey, hey.” Reaper reached out and grasped onto Grim’s shoulder’s in attempts to pull him back to his human form. “You alright?”

 

“Just… nothing.” Grim almost opened up to Reaper, but he decided it was best to keep it to himself.

 

“Nervous?”

 

“...Yeah.”

 

“There’s nothing to be nervous about. It’s a simple job. It’ll be fine, I promise.”

 

Grim looked down, a soft sigh escaping from beneath his mask. He noticed Reaper’s hands were still on his shoulders. The other’s body heat felt… nice. Though, it made him miss Gabriel more than ever. He missed being able to crawl in bed with his lover after a long day at work, stealing all his warmth.

 

“Something else is on your mind.” Reaper stated the obvious.

 

“...I’m just… missing someone is all.”

 

“Hmph.” Reaper huffed and lifted a hand to gently tap Grim’s chin. “Me too…”

 

Grim looked up, meeting the other’s hidden gaze. Reaper’s tensed and pulled away.

 

In that moment, Gabriel felt something he least expected to feel, especially after losing Jack. He was getting feelings for this man that was oddly similar to himself. It seems they both lost people they deeply cared for.

 

“Well, that’s it for today.”

 

“What? But… what about…”

 

“You’ll do fine, as I said. You can construct a gun that works. You’re good to go.”

 

“If you say so…”

 

Honestly, Gabriel just wanted some time to himself. Too many emotions hit him at once and he needed to find some alone time. With that, he left Grim and headed for his own quarters. Closing the door behind himself, he allowed his gloves and mask to evaporate away, as well as his combat uniform. Entering his bathroom, he turned the water on in the sink and splashed some water into his face before looking up at himself in the mirror. Red eyes stared back at him, his hair was long, and curled over his shoulders. Jack had mentioned how much he wished for Gabriel to grow it out, and since the day Jack died, Gabriel had not even attempted to cut it.

 

_How can I grow feelings for a man, when I just lost the only man I ever loved._

 

Jack headed for his Talon quarters as well, confused about Reaper’s...emotions? They’d both opened up to each other about something personal, even if it was vague. Reaper had tried to pull Jack out of his usual _go-to_ state and succeeded. Only one other man had the ability to calm Jack’s nerves. Could he allow another man to do such a thing so easily?

 

Still not quite sure how to get rid of his clothing as easily as he constructed it on himself, Jack just simply removed the clothing items like a normal person and tossed them aside and headed for the shower. Jack hardly ever looked to himself in the mirror, disgusted by all the scarring his face and body held, but once in a while he’d take a glance. If Gabe was here to see him now, he’d be fussing and kissing over every scar and deformation. The thought alone brought the smallest smile to Jack’s lips.

 

Later that night, Jack laid in bed, not quite able to sleep. A lot was on his mind. He not only missed Gabe, but he also  missed his life. Everything and everyone that was in it. It was all gone too soon.

 

_Meep._

 

A larger version of his earlier Reaper beans was cuddled up to his side, happily grumbling away. He ran his hand over the cat-size bean, gently stroking it in a soothing matter. It was more soothing for himself, really. He needed something he could touch. It still wasn’t the same as playing with Gabriel’s hair, though.

 

_Knock, knock, knock._

 

Jack jumped, slightly startled. Someone was at the door. Quickly, he dispersed the Reaper bean and got up to answer the door. Just as he placed his hand on the knob, he realized he wasn’t in his Grim attire.

With a deep breath, he constructed his outfit onto himself, then proceeded to open the door. It was Reaper.

 

“...what’s going on, is everything alri-”

 

Again, Grim was rudely interrupted as Reaper shoved his way in.

 

Grim stood in the doorway a moment longer, contemplating on what he should do or say.

 

“You gonna stand there with the door wide open?” Reaper questioned from the couch he’d already plopped down in.

 

Grim shut the door.

 

“I’d offer you something to drink, but…”

 

“Oh…” Reaper reached a hand to his mask. “I don’t mind taking off my mask if that’s-”

 

“No!” Grim threw his hands out, stopping Reaper from removing his mask. “I mean… I… It... “ Huff. “I’m not ready.”

 

“Calm down, Grim. It’s not like you’re going to turn to stone by looking me in the eyes.”

 

“It’s not that I don’t trust you… I’m just not ready…” He explained again.

 

“Alright. Masks stay on then.” Reaper dropped his hand, not wanting to make Grim uncomfortable.

 

Reaper patted the couch beside him, signaling for Grim to sit down. Grim sat awkwardly, unsure of what exactly was going on.

 

“I’m sorry for how I left things earlier.” Reaper paused. “Our talk sort of struck a nerve, and I just needed some space.”  
  
“...It’s okay. Really. I understand.”

 

“You remind me of him.”

 

“Of who?”

“The man I loved.”

 

“Oh.”

 

As if it wasn’t awkward enough.

 

“Sorry.”

 

“No. It’s okay. Stop apologizing.”

 

A sigh escaped Reaper’s mouth as he shifted to lay down, placing his head in Grim’s lap.

 

Grim swallowed, feeling a bit claustrophobic at first, but the contact soon felt familiar, and that eased his mind. _Something to touch._

 

Grim rested his hand on Reaper’s shoulder and gently stroked over the material of his jacket with his thumb.

 

“What was he like… the man you loved?” Grim spoke up.

 

“Handsome as hell, for starters.” Reaper chuckled. “Caring, understanding, kind, patient… sometimes a pain my ass.”

 

“Mmh.” Grim hummed in returned.

 

“What about yours?”

 

“...He was very stubborn, and also a pain in my ass. But, he meant the world to me.”

 

“Life isn’t fair.”

 

“You can say that again.”

 

“How’d you wind up as a Talon experiment anyway?”

 

Grim swallowed.

 

“I don’t know.” It was a lie, but Jack wasn’t sure it would be such a good idea to share the truth.

 

“Seems to be about what all the Talon experiments say. I know who Widowmaker is, but she doesn’t even know herself. You’re lucky you at least remember your past. Some of the experiments get completely wiped.”

 

“Heh... “

 

An audible yawn sounded from beneath Reaper’s mask and he sat up.

 

“I guess I should let you get some rest. Thanks for the talk, Grim…”

 

Reaper stood up and patted Grim on the shoulder.

 

“Any time…”

 

Once Reaper let himself out, Jack got out of his Grim attire and headed back to bed. His mind refused to shut down as he thought of all the strange familiarities that Reaper possess. Despite the few awkward moments, Jack felt comfortable with the masked man. As long as he could remain masked as well. At least until they got to know each other better.

* * *

 

Jack wasn’t quite sure why Talon needed these specific people dead, but then again, maybe they were just using them as practice subjects to see if he could handle tasks that were given.

 

Sure, Jack could handle this, but what happens if they started sending him after Overwatch agents that were still alive? He wouldn’t be able to. There was no way. He’d rather them leak his identity than be forced to kill his friends.

 

Jack joined the army at a young age. It’s where he met Gabriel. He was used to having blood on his hands. But this was different.. Talon killed without reason. They had sick, inhuman tendencies. They needed to be shut down. That’s who the U.N. should have been going after. Not Overwatch.

 

While seated alongside Reaper inside the transport vehicle, Grim watched outside the window. Many thoughts were on his mind as they headed to their first mission together.

 

“What’s on your mind?” Reaper asked, as if on queue.

 

“Am I that obvious to read?”

 

Reaper chuckled.

 

“Sometimes.”

 

“Why do you work for Talon?”

 

A sigh sounded from beneath Reaper’s mask.

 

“I used to work for an organization I thought I could trust, but they broken my trust. And now I seek revenge, which Talon has agreed to offer me.”

 

“Revenge…” Grim repeated aloud. “Is breaking trust worth such a harsh punishment for you?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Must had been a big promise.”

 

“It wasn’t a promise made. More like a stab in the back. I trusted everyone there with my life, with my boyfr- ...nevermind. It doesn’t matter.”

 

Grim’s eyes left the window and looked over to Reaper. He was going to say ‘ _boyfriend’s life._ ’ Jack felt like maybe he was going crazy. This man lost his lover in a similar way to him losing his own. And to top it all off, they both shared the same ghosting abilities. This was growing more weird by the second.

 

“What?” Reaper asked, catching Grim’s gaze.

 

Jack looked away again, staying silent. It was best he didn’t speak his mind further for now.

 

Gabriel gripped the steering wheel tightly. He couldn’t believe he just let such a confession spill out, and now Grim was giving him the silent treatment. Gabriel knew he’d become a monster, but was it so bad to be like this after so much had happened? If this was the life he deserved, then everyone would be given what they deserved in return. It was only fair.

 

Reaching their destination, Reaper killed the power to the vehicle, the hover-mode coming to the halt and setting them back on the ground. Grim was about to open the door and get out before Reaper’s hand shot over and grabbed his arm to stop him.

 

“Not yet. We need to make sure the coast is clear first.”

 

Grim sat back and waited for Reaper’s okay. After a short moment, Reaper stepped out of the vehicle and Grim followed suit, staying on Reaper’s six. In the blink of an eye, Reaper formed two shotguns in his hands. _Gabriel used to use shotguns…_

 

_Don’t think anything of it, Jack. You watched him get ripped apart._

 

Reaper entered in the back of the building, then nodded his head in Grim’s direction, signaling the coast was clear. Grim followed, his heart beating fast against his chest. He needed to try to keep himself in control or he’d surely turn to smoke.

 

Many gunshots later, the bodies of their victims now lied around them. Grim was breathing heavily and Reaper heard the sound of a large gun falling to the ground. He turned to look at his partner whose hands were shaking. Reaper threw his own guns to the ground and immediately reached out to grab Grim’s hands.

 

“Hey… it’s okay. It’s over.” Gabriel tried to speak as soft as he could to try and calm Grim’s nerves.

 

Jack moved his hands from Reaper’s and gripped onto Reaper’s jacket to try and keep himself steady as he wavered in and out of form. But he began to hyperventilate unexpectedly.

 

“Shhh, Grim, it’s okay. Calm down. Hey.” Gabriel placed his hands on either side of Grim’s face. “Look at me. Breath in.” He breathed in, helping Grim get the motion. “And back out.” He let out his own breath.

 

Soon Grim was following suit and calming down.

 

“I’m sorry…” Jack finally got ahold of himself and loosened his grip on Reaper’s jacket.

 

“It’s alri-”

 

Mentally drained, Jack leaned forward, pressing his forehead against Reaper’s mask. He closed his eyes, allowing the presence of Reaper to comfort him.

 

Gabriel blinked but then grinned beneath his mask.

 

Just as grim began to pull away, Gabriel quickly reached a hand up behind Grim’s head, and pulled him close again.

 

“Was that a kiss?”

 

“...Maybe” Jack swallowed harshly, his breath hitching.

 

“...Do it again.”

 

Grim shook his head, looking down.

 

“I can’t… you remind me so much of _him._ ” Jack choked.

 

Gabriel stilled.

 

“Who, Grim?” Gabriel hooked a finger beneath Grim’s chin, forcing him to look back up.

 

“The man I lost…”

 

“Mmh.” Gabriel shook his head as if to shake off the similar feeling. “You also remind me of the man I lost…”

 

“Really?”

 

Reaper nodded, then pulled Grim in and held him tightly against himself.

 

The way Grim felt in his arms was far too familiar.. Everything. All of it.

 

It just wasn’t possible.

 

“Grim?”

 

“Hmm?” Jack backed away, quickly swiping an arm across his eyes.

 

“I’d like to show you my face if you’ll allow me this time....” Gabriel paused. “But, not here.”

 

“O-okay.” Jack responded back with nervous tension.

 

The ride was long and quiet, but at the same time very loud. Neither of them could stop thinking.  

 

_Gabriel died. I watched him die._

 

_Jack died. I saw him lying in a pool of  his own blood._

 

“Where are we going?” Grim spoke up from the passenger seat.

 

“You’ll see.”

 

After about a half hour into the drive, Gabriel parked the vehicle on a cliff side that overlooked the city skyline. Reaper stepped out of the vehicle, and removed his gloves tossing them into the driver’s seat before shutting the door.

 

Jack stepped out, his heart hammering in anticipation. Was he ready for this?

 

Stepping around the front of the car, Gabriel could see that Grim was fidgeting with his hands. Gabriel took a few more steps, closing the gap between them, reaching out to grab Grim’s hands once again.

 

“We don’t have to do this.” Reaper assured.

 

Grim shook his head and looked up.

 

“...I’m ready.” Jack breathed through the tight leather mask against his face.

 

Reaper stood back, releasing Grim’s hands and then reached up and slowly began to lift the mask from his own face.

 

A gasp escaped Grim’s lips. Those lip, and beard… That nose…

 

It was him. It was really him. He was… _alive_.

 

“Gabriel…” Jack choked.

 

Gabriel held the mask tightly between his fingers before allowing it to evaporate away, his red eyes blinking. _Did he just…_

 

Grim reached his shaky hands up, curling his fingers into the brim of his mask and began to slowly pull it down. Jack would be more unrecognizable due to the scarring. The scarring he was almost too ashamed to reveal to his lover that he thought was lost forever.  

 

Gabriel stood still. Frozen as he watched Grim, _Jack_ , the love of his life reveal himself.

 

“Jacky…”

 

Jack nodded as he sniffled back a sob fighting to escape his throat as tears spilled over his cheeks. Gabriel closed the gap between them once again, taking Jack’s face in his hands and pulling him in for the deepest, most longing kiss Jack had ever felt before. Jack couldn’t help but let the sob escape now against his lover’s lips. Breaking the kiss, Jack wrapped his arms tightly around Gabriel and buried his face in Gabriel’s neck.

 

“It’s really you.” Jack whispered.

 

Gabriel held Jack just as tightly, his hands clutching onto him for dear life, afraid to let go.

 

“H-how? How is this possible…” Gabriel was dumbfounded. It all felt like a dream.

 

“I don’t know either.”

 

Both men were at a loss as to the how’s and why’s. But right now, it didn’t matter.

 

“Your hair is grey…” Gabe chuckled softly and stepped back, reaching out and scruff up Jack’s hair like old times.

 

Gabriel shoved Jack’s long hair back out of his face, getting a better look at all the scarring over his face. The man was still beautiful.

 

“And your eyes…”

 

“Yours’ changed too.”

 

Jack reached out for one of Gabriel’s long, curly locks poking out from his hood, and twirled it in his fingers. Gabriel reached up and shoved the hood the rest of the way back, allowing his messy hair to spill out.

 

“You grew it out.”

 

“Just like you wanted, Jacky…”

 

“You’re so handsome…” Jack continued to play with Gabriel’s hair numbly, still at a loss with how any of this was possible.

 

A couple hours passed as both men wound up sitting on the hood of the vehicle, holding each other as they looked out onto the city lights. It was all still so surreal.

 

“Why Talon?” Jack was the first to break the romantic reunion.

 

“I told you before, Jacky…” Gabriel pressed his forehead against Jack’s. “I know what you’re going to say… but I had my reasons... “

 

Jack nodded, and continued to hold Gabriel in his arms.

 

“I was brought here under blackmail, Gabriel. If I even try to leave, they will tell the media that I caused the explosion. They will kill all the people we love.”

 

Gabriel sighed.

 

“I promise, Jacky, I will get us out of here, but I need time. So far, they trust me. I can use that to get to the top, and then I can destroy them…”

 

Jack nodded again.

 

“I will help you...”

 

Gabriel stroked a thumb across Jack’s jaw.

 

“Always the hero, Jack.”

 

Leaving the past behind. _The end is where we begin._

 

**Author's Note:**

> I apologize for any spelling/grammar/sentence errors. When I find the time, I will re-read through this and make corrections!


End file.
